Pulse Jam

Bored On The Treadmill? Try GameRunner

As some of you may know, every year CES introduces the world to cool gadgets and new technologies.  The health and fitness industry takes advantage of this opportunity to showcase products that blend technology with fitness and sports.  A very important topic for us.

One of the coolest things at CES was the treadmill/video game combo from GameRunner.  You are literally in the game and have to walk or run after your opponent.  Their flagship game, First Person Shooter, puts you in the middle of a war situation and you have run your way out without getting killed.

Interesting concept and I look forward to other games.  I might get tired of being shot at during my entire workout, but then again, maybe that's the point.

SKIGYM Lets You Ski Anytime

Want to get some skiing in, but wish there were better weather conditions?   How about skiing from the comfort of your own home with SKIGYM. It's fully motorized and designed for you to experience skiing games on your TV screen.  This takes Wii Fit's games to another level.

SKIGYM, developed by Pro-idee in Germany with some help from sports specialists, ski instructors, and physical therapists, has created one of the best virtual skiing simulators to date.  It not only improves your skiing ability but it gives you a workout in the process. You have the option to either plug this device up to your PC and play the included Alpine Ski Racing game, which has 32 different ski slopes including 18 real life ones like Lake Louise, Beaver Lake, and Chamonix. or you can simply use it on its own as a piece of excercise equipment.

Technically, SKIGYM is a sophisticated training device that transmits your body movements on the screen using a microchip. You also have the option of setting difficultly levels from junior, amateur, and even professional, and can choose between from six different disciplines including slaloms and super G.

I'm feeling like a double black diamond run this weekend...

Exercise While You Work

For all the exercise nuts, I mean the folks who have to work out all the time, here is the exercise device for you.  The WalkStation provides those people working from home, call centers or uniquely equipped offices the opportunity to literally exercise while you work.  At a maximum speed of 2 mph, the WalkStation lets you walk comfortably, burn calories, feel healthier and more energized...all while accomplishing the work you would normally do while seated.  No sweat!

This does sound like a healthy option for sedentary workers at the office, enabling them to burn calories while they work.  Calories are burned every day through normal day-to-day activity.  The WalkStation simply accelerates the burning of a few more calories.  For example, there are a large number of people who spend most of their day seated in front of a computer.  If seated time were replaced by walking while working, energy expenditure could increase by 100 calories per hour.   

iBowl - Just Don't Throw The iPhone

Who needs an Nintendo Wii when you’ve got an iPhone? The Social Gaming Network, which released a Wii-like golfing game for the iPhone three weeks ago, has now followed up with a bowling game. As with iGolf (which has already been downloaded over 1 million times), iBowl uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to detect a player’s swing. You can even twist your wrist to give the ball spin or direct it to the pins.

The Social Gaming Netowrk is better known for its games on social networks like MySpace and Facebook. iBowl is free and you can challenge your friends to games, but not much else in terms of social functionality. But there does not seem to be much of a social component besides that. Not that it needs one. Becoming the Wii of the iPhone is probably a big enough opportunity in its own right.

That’s what’s so great about the iPhone as a gaming platform. It is not just a handheld computer that you can run games on, it’s the physical controller as well.

iGolf for iPhone

Once you’re done turning your iPhone photos into works of art that Monet would be envious of, check out iGolf , an application created by Palo Alto-based Social Gaming Network.

The application uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to detect a golf-swing like motion with the phone. Choose a club and swing the iPhone just like a golf club. Kind of like Wii, but with your iPhone.  Save your high scores and challenge your friends to beat your distance. Our best score with the driver so far is 356 yards.

The application is free, which will be appreciated by those of us who’ve spent untold numbers of quarters playing Golden Tee at the local bar.

One caveat, try not to throw your iPhone through the window while playing. But if you do throw your iPhone through a window, we would love to have a video of you doing so.

Will Masks Help Olympic Athletes in Beijing?

As the Summer Olympics begin this week there may be athletes walking around Beijing wearing face masks to protect themselves from the city’s pollution before they compete.  But, do these masks really help?

Jonathan Parson, a pulmonologist affiliated with the sports medicine center at Ohio State University has some answers.

What happens to your lungs when you breathe polluted air?

The airways get inflamed, and when they get inflamed they get narrower. The walls of the airway get fatter and swollen and the hole gets smaller. There’s less room to breathe. When you get a person that is competing at the Olympic level, where fractions of seconds mean winning a gold medal or not winning a medal at all, if your airways are narrowed it could make a huge difference.

What does wearing a mask do?

It’s going to reduce the level of dust and fine particulates that get into the airways. In theory, it would protect you to the point where there would be less inflammation, less airway narrowing than the person who had not been wearing a mask. It hasn’t been shown definitively to be protective, but to be perfectly honest there really isn’t anything else you can do. If I was an athlete, I would do it.

Are there pollutants a mask doesn’t filter out?

The gases — sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone. There’s a ton of them. Those are all toxic to the airways, and the airway narrowing can occur as a result of any of these. All these are created from fossil fuel burning. It’s basically like breathing an exhaust pipe from a car.

Would wearing a mask during competition be a good idea?

No. Wearing a mask, first of all, you’re going to be reducing the amount of air that you can move in and out of your airway. The raw physiology of the situation is you need to deliver as much oxygen to your muscles as possible to get the maximal performance. A mask is going to restrict that. Plus, I think it would be uncomfortable and may make you feel claustrophobic.

iControl your iPod

If you love to run or workout with your ipod and have it strapped somewhere to your body, it is always a hassle to unstrap it, change songs and control the volume. This must have been a serious issue for some of the runners at Timex, who are known for their ironman sports watches, have come out with a watch that can now control your ipod.

The iControl watch transmits signals seamlessly to your iPod so you can control your music in a heartbeat. Without breaking stride you can change songs, pause, increase/decrease volume.  the watch also has forward and reverse functions.  It also has 2 interval timers, a count down timer, and three alarms and yes it tells time as well.

The iControl is water resistant, which makes it great for inclement weather runs but you might want to think twice about that if you are intending to go for a swim after your run to make sure your ipod is not in your pocket. 

Designed to work with your body and coordinate with your iPod, the iControl watch is sleek and comfortable to wear - with all the features you need to manage your music and your running.  Now there is no excuse to not keep pace with Linken Park, Mary J Blige, or whatever your running music of choice is.

Football & Baseball on your iPhone

Football season comes to a climax this weekend with the Super Bowl and the baseball teams have started their Spring training, so how about a way to keep up with your favorite teams on your iPhone.

Unable to be in front of a TV screen this Sunday for the big game, no problem, click on Fumbleview, www.fumbleview.com, and track the progress of the Patriots or Giants in real time.  You will be able to keep up with real time stats, scores and up to the minute plays.  Just pick your team from the drop down menu and join the action.

Pickleview, www.pickleview.com, is a very similar application for Major League Baseball.  Once the season starts, you will see a baseball diamond with with live graphics of on-base runners and pitch counts.

For a sports fan, these are valuable applications.

On the Slopes? Use your watch to stay informed

  Suunto, www.suunto.com, might be one of the most technically advanced watch companies in the marketplace today.  They develop some very cool technology and efficiently place it all in stylish watches.

Suunto Core, is the most recent and comes in wide variety to styles and colors.  Although appealing to the fashion conscious, the watch comes with a plethora of features that keep you informed on the ski slopes or the trail.  It comes with an accurate altimeter, barometer, digital thermometer, weather trend indicator and a digital compass.

The pressure gauge operates in four distinct modes, including an automatic setting that senses your movement or lack thereof, switching between altimeter and barometer accordingly. The compass features a rotating bezel for traditional use, or a one-touch function that allows you to sight, lock and follow a bearing. Daily functions include dual time, date, alarm, sports chronograph and predicted times for sunrise and sunset.

As you're skiing on fresh powder this season, take a look at the Suunto Core, not only will you look good, you will stay informed.

Keep Your Ears Warm and Listen To Music At The Same Time

Nike has introduced so many options for me to listen to my music while I run, I'm surprised they didn't have a booth at the recent Consumer Electronics Show.  So, why should cold weather running be any different?  Nike has introduced the Nike Performance Hatphone.  I can now keep my ears warm and listen to my music at the same time.

What's the Nike Hatphone?  It's essentially a skullcap, albiet a comfortable one, with a pocket for the iPod Nano.  The controls and built-in headphones easily adjust to fit your ears

They cost about $60 and could be an interesting investment especially for those long weekend runs over the next month or so.